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    I Wish I Knew That: Cool Stuff You Need to Know
    I Wish I Knew That: Cool Stuff You Need to Know
    I Wish I Knew That: Cool Stuff You Need to Know
    Ebook230 pages1 hour

    I Wish I Knew That: Cool Stuff You Need to Know

    By Buster Books

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Perfect for any child who wants to stay one step ahead of their classmates, this fantastic book is packed with informative titbits that will fascinate and enthrall young minds. It is full of interesting stuff that parents and grandparents used to learn at school that every child ought to know today: from classic books children should read, a quick grammar guide, an introduction to foreign languages, who that Pythagoras chap was, to a look at all the kings and queens, countries and their capitals, an introduction to classics and much more, it covers all subjects.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMichael O'Mara
    Release dateNov 20, 2011
    ISBN9781780550558
    I Wish I Knew That: Cool Stuff You Need to Know
    Author

    Buster Books

    Buster Books loves to create books for curious and creative children, which spark the imagination and encourage exploration. Above all, they are books to be enjoyed.

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    • 4/5
      If you're looking for a basic knowledge refresher or a book to use in prepping for an academic bowl or similar "general knowledge" test, this is the book for you.

    Book preview

    I Wish I Knew That - Buster Books

    Written by Steve Martin,

    Dr Mike Goldsmith and Marianne Taylor

    Illustrated by Andrew Pinder

    Edited by Elizabeth Scoggins

    Designed by Zoe Quayle

    First published in Great Britain in 2010 by Buster Books,

    an imprint of Michael O’Mara Books Limited,

    9 Lion Yard, Tremadoc Road, London SW4 7NQ

    www.mombooks.com/busterbooks

    Text and illustrations copyright © Buster Books 2010

    This electronic edition published in 2011

    ISBN: 978-1-78055-055-8 in EPub format

    ISBN: 978-1-78055-054-1 in Mobipocket format

    ISBN: 978-1-907151-10-1 in hardback print format

    All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

    A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

    Ebook compilation by RefineCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk

    Cover design by Angie Allison

    CONTENTS

    Getting Ahead Of The Class

    LITERATURE STUFF

    Shakespeare, In Short

    Poets’ Corner

    Classic Reads

    MUSIC AND ART STUFF

    A Brief History Of Music

    The World Of Art

    LANGUAGE STUFF

    The Parts Of Speech

    Putting A Sentence Together

    Unusual Terms

    Sounds Like …

    Let’s Figure This Out

    Languages Of The World

    CLASSICS STUFF

    A Dip Into The Classics

    Ancient Languages

    The Seven Wonders

    Mythologically Speaking

    HISTORY STUFF

    British Kings And Queens

    In Search Of Conquest

    Exploring The Globe

    Prime Ministers

    Troubled Times

    In Times Of War

    All The US Presidents

    Classified

    How Cold Is A Cold War?

    GEOGRAPHY STUFF

    Countries, Continents And Capital Cities

    The United States Of America

    Tallest, Largest, Longest

    How Land Is Shaped And Changed

    The Water Cycle

    Weather And Climate

    Human Impact

    Geological Time, In Brief

    MATHS STUFF

    What’s In A Number?

    A Number Of Questions

    Compare And Contrast

    Weird Numbers

    Measuring, To Be Precise

    Jump Into Geometry

    Some Algebra Magic

    What Are The Chances?

    Mathematical Greats

    SCIENCE STUFF

    First Physics

    The Laws Of Motion

    Electricity And Magnetism

    Space, Time And All That

    Gravity And Black Holes

    Quick Chemistry

    The Periodic Table

    Chemical Compounds

    Beginners’ Biology

    Getting Under Your Skin

    Micro-life

    Where Did You Come From?

    INDEX

    GETTING AHEAD OF THE CLASS

    Have you ever known something the other kids in your class didn’t? Cool, isn’t it?

    In this book you will discover lots of exciting things your teachers haven’t mentioned (and some of the things they have).

    Find out the names of all the countries in the world and their capital cities. Discover how a black hole works and if a cold war really is cold. Read about an enormous island of floating plastic in the Pacific Ocean.

    There are lots of bite-sized chunks of information from history and geography, to maths and science. There are even sections on literature and language, to make sure you get things right when you write.

    Rather than a whole pile of books, you can get a taste of all these different subjects with just this one. In no time at all you’ll be able to impress your friends and family with a hundred interesting titbits. Better still, you’ll stay way ahead of your classmates!

    SHAKESPEARE, IN SHORT

    William Shakespeare, or the Bard (meaning poet), wrote some of the world’s best-known plays and poems. He wrote funny plays known as comedies and sad plays, which are called his tragedies. Several plays are known as ‘problem plays’, which very entertaining, but neither comedies nor tragedies. Here are some brief introductions to his most famous plays to help you bluff your way through until you can see them at the theatre yourself.

    Hamlet

    Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, is a troubled young man. His father, the king, has been murdered, and his mother has married his father’s brother, Claudius, after only a few weeks.

    One night, the ghost of the king appears to Hamlet and reveals that Claudius murdered him. He asks Hamlet to seek revenge, but Hamlet wants to find more proof of the murder first. To do this, he pretends to be driven mad by grief, and puts on a play for Claudius that tells the story of a murder similar to that of the king’s. It makes it very clear that the king has been murdered by his brother. When Claudius reacts nervously to the play, Hamlet is convinced he is guilty.

    Hamlet goes to confront his mother in her room, but he thinks he can hear Claudius hiding behind a curtain and stabs at him. Sadly, he has not killed Claudius, he has murdered Polonius, the father of Ophelia, a girl Hamlet once loved. The news drives Ophelia mad and she drowns herself.

    These terrible events lead to more revenge and this time Polonius’ son, Laertes (pronounced ‘layer-tees’), decides to punish Hamlet. Claudius sets up a duel between Hamlet and Laertes, but he gives Laertes a poisoned sword to make sure that Hamlet dies. Laertes fatally stabs Hamlet, but during the fight, the two men accidentally switch weapons and Hamlet also wounds Laertes with the poisoned sword.

    A wounded Hamlet then manages to stab Claudius, but at that moment his mother drinks from the poisoned wine that Hamlet had prepared for Claudius. Laertes, Hamlet, his mother and Claudius all die – not really a happy ending.

    Romeo And Juliet

    This is the story of a young couple from two rival families, the Montagues and the Capulets. Romeo and Juliet fall in love instantly when they meet at Juliet’s family party, and are later secretly married by Friar Laurence. However, Tybalt, a cousin of Juliet’s, is angry that Romeo came to the party uninvited and challenges him to fight. When Romeo refuses, his friend Mercutio fights instead and is killed. Romeo murders Tybalt in revenge and is sent away as a punishment, leaving Juliet behind.

    This wouldn’t be so bad, except that Juliet’s family, who still have no idea that she is married, arrange a wedding between Juliet and her cousin, Count Paris. To avoid Juliet getting stuck with a second husband she doesn’t want, Friar Laurence comes up with a plan.

    The plan involves Juliet drinking a potion to make her appear to be dead. The idea is that Romeo will come back and rescue her from her tomb. Sadly, for both Romeo and Juliet the plan goes disastrously wrong when a message, reassuring Romeo that Juliet is only sleeping in the tomb, gets lost. Poor Romeo returns home believing his wife is dead. Stricken with grief, he kills himself, and when Juliet wakes up she kills herself, too.

    The Montagues and Capulets finally decide to stop being enemies, but it’s all too late for Romeo and Juliet.

    Now that’s what you call a tragedy.

    Much Ado About Nothing

    On the way home from battle, Don Pedro, a prince, and his men, Claudio and Benedick, are invited to stay in Messina by the governor of the city, Leonato. Claudio is reunited with Leonato’s daughter, Hero, who he once loved. Claudio and Hero are driven crazy by the constant arguing between Beatrice (Leonato’s niece) and Benedick. They decide to trick Beatrice

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